All U.S. patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The M16 family of semi-automatic firearms, including AR-15/AR-10 rifles, has gained significant success with military, law enforcement and civilians alike. The continued evolvement of these firearms is diverse with variations being developed regularly due to the inherent modularity of the base platform. The design of these rifles has been refined thereby improving functional reliability, expanding mission roles, and reducing manufacturing costs; however, the design principles have not been significantly improved. There are multiple variations in the design of these rifles for various calibers.
Typically these rifles are loaded using an ammunition magazine that is loaded apart from the rifle. Once the magazine is loaded, the magazine is inserted into the magazine well located in the lower receiver of the rifle system. The standard magazine well is straight walled and designed to receive any magazine which conforms to its basic shape and latch mechanism, well-known in the prior art. The ability of the user to quickly insert a magazine is of paramount importance for military, paramilitary personnel and civilian users. Factory magazine wells are narrow and easy to miss when the users are careless with inserting the magazine into the magazine well. Damage to the feed lips of the magazine occurs when the user attempts to insert the magazine into the magazine well and strikes the magazine lip into the side of the magazine well. This type of damage can lead to misfires and unnecessary wear and tear on the rifle. Furthermore, using magazines can be cumbersome, leading to the user dropping and fouling the magazine and rounds prior to insertion into the magazine well. This is not desired as it can lead to misfires.
The object of the present invention is to improve the loading design of these rifles and overcome the undesirable features of using a separate magazine for loading ammunition. The present invention provides a non-removable or integral feeding device to eliminate the possibility of the feeding device (e.g., ammunition magazines) from being lost or damaged when out in the field, or from damaging the weapon system during insertion of an ammunition magazine. The present invention also allows for a more robust and precision construction that aids in the reliability of the firearm.